Status: All Done
Mad Men
A Man Amongst Gods
Spring in Pittsburgh was unpredictable at best, but there wasn’t a body in the city that didn’t leave for lunch just to get outside. The day brought a beautiful cloudless sky, the bright sunlight shining right through the just-budding trees; when they’d leaf fully by the end of the week, everyone would suddenly notice and wonder how it happened so suddenly.
The city seemed louder than usual with everyone out enjoying the weather; children running and playing in the park, a group of schools on a fieldtrip, dogs barking and cars in the distance; the bowl landscape held everything in and magnified it. The park was especially alive; food trucks lined the street and drew in workers from every walk of life; suits and shorts and jeans and construction vests. A group of young men played pickle in Pirates t-shirts, waiting anxiously for the game that night.
Sitting in the grass next to the pavilion, a young man adjusted his glasses and stretched his legs out straight in front of him. The sun felt foreign on his legs and arms. Things were better for him, and he hoped they would keep getting better every day. It had been a lot of work, but things were almost normal again. Except that he couldn’t remember that last time he’d experienced a Spring in shorts and a t-shirt instead of suit pants and a dress shirt.
Knowing he had a lot more ahead of him made him smile.
Across from the man was a woman. She wore shorts and a t-shirt and sat indian style. She caught the man smiling and smiled back. It had taken her a lot of time and a lot of convincing. She'd gone through periods of emotional distress, doubt, absurdity. But things were getting better for her everyday. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d experienced a Spring day in the park with her husband and nothing bothering her.
Knowing she had a lot more ahead of her made her smile even wider.
Across the river, two men in light suits were walking down the street. They didn’t walk too quickly, but they weren’t slow to enjoy the weather like most others. Instead, one moved closer to the road to look for a taxi while the other took a sharp turn into the glass doors of the building to his right. Moments later, he came out with three other men and two duffle bags.
They piled into the hailed cab and pulled away from the curb just as a chorus of police sirens exploded in the distance.
The city seemed louder than usual with everyone out enjoying the weather; children running and playing in the park, a group of schools on a fieldtrip, dogs barking and cars in the distance; the bowl landscape held everything in and magnified it. The park was especially alive; food trucks lined the street and drew in workers from every walk of life; suits and shorts and jeans and construction vests. A group of young men played pickle in Pirates t-shirts, waiting anxiously for the game that night.
Sitting in the grass next to the pavilion, a young man adjusted his glasses and stretched his legs out straight in front of him. The sun felt foreign on his legs and arms. Things were better for him, and he hoped they would keep getting better every day. It had been a lot of work, but things were almost normal again. Except that he couldn’t remember that last time he’d experienced a Spring in shorts and a t-shirt instead of suit pants and a dress shirt.
Knowing he had a lot more ahead of him made him smile.
Across from the man was a woman. She wore shorts and a t-shirt and sat indian style. She caught the man smiling and smiled back. It had taken her a lot of time and a lot of convincing. She'd gone through periods of emotional distress, doubt, absurdity. But things were getting better for her everyday. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d experienced a Spring day in the park with her husband and nothing bothering her.
Knowing she had a lot more ahead of her made her smile even wider.
Across the river, two men in light suits were walking down the street. They didn’t walk too quickly, but they weren’t slow to enjoy the weather like most others. Instead, one moved closer to the road to look for a taxi while the other took a sharp turn into the glass doors of the building to his right. Moments later, he came out with three other men and two duffle bags.
They piled into the hailed cab and pulled away from the curb just as a chorus of police sirens exploded in the distance.
♠ ♠ ♠
I hope no one's too upset that this is so short. It was my plan since the beginning to bring this story full circle to reflect the first chapter. Thanks to everyone who stuck through until the end, I know it had a long, painful detour. This is going to be my next story. It will only be a couple of chapters and will hopefully be up soon!